National player Kai Havertz has complained about the lack of support from the fans for the DFB selection. The German national football team was on its own at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022.
“Even if I don’t include everyone,” said the Arsenal offensive player before the friendly against Japan on Saturday (8:45 p.m. / RTL): “For us footballers, fans are extremely important because of course that gives you strength. When you see what the other nations had for fans and for support. We – in my opinion – lacked that a bit.”
The fans are “the twelfth man” and give support, especially in bad phases. “And we didn’t feel it 100 percent every time,” said Havertz: “Nevertheless, we try to get the fans back on board with good performances and create euphoria again. That’s only possible through victories.”
After the friendly against Japan, Germany will play France in Dortmund on Tuesday. “Even in bad phases, as a football player, you need the backing and support,” said Havertz, “to get out of the bad phase. There’s no other way.” According to Havertz, the criticism of the past few months was “often not rightly expressed”. “But we handled it well as a team,” said the 24-year-old. “We now go into the games to win them.”
